Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 07/03/2007
This was inevitable. In 2006, Seattle's proto-'80s and '90s
metal rockers
Queensrÿche released a sequel to their critical and commercial classic
Operation: Mindcrime, entitled, appropriately enough,
Operation: Mindcrime II, recorded by using the same technology they'd used to do the original in 1988. Far from being cheesy, the experiment worked: the story picked up where the original left off, with
Nikki out of prison and seeking revenge for the killing of his beloved former prostitute turned nun,
Sister Mary. There were screaming guitars,
Geoff Tate's disciplined roaring vocals filled with drama and conviction, and a guest spot by
Ronnie James Dio as
Dr. X. During the same year, the band brought both volumes -- i.e., the entire saga -- out to
the Moore Theater in Seattle for three nights and recorded everything with a slew of guests, and the results cover the two discs here.
Pamela Moore returned as
Sister Mary, and the host of backing vocalists as the jury include
Miranda and
Susan Tate. The other big surprise is the inclusion of the entire Seattle Seahawks drumline! The recording is pristine and flawless, the performance is truly inspired, and the interaction with the audience pushes the energy level over the top. It is pointless to go into this track by track. The reason? This is the true culmination of a
rock & roll classic that gives the name "
heavy metal" a great name. Guitarist
Mike Stone, who joined the band as a permanent member in 2005, is fully integrated with his counterpart, guitarist
Michael Wilton. The rhythm section, both original members in bassist
Eddie Jackson and drummer
Scott Rockenfield, simply gels and pushes
Tate to the very height of his ability as a lead vocalist.
The drama in this set, which is nearly three hours long, is all there -- especially given the fact that people in the U.S. are faced with living in a country at war and a media perception of their government trying Draconian measures in their dealings with prisoners, and in matters of secrecy. The rage, dynamic, texture, and sheer professionalism on display here actually serve to bring that home -- all one needs to do is listen to the crowd in all the poignant moments. This is theater at its best; it takes a particularly creative and disciplined band to pull off any concept record, an enduringly creative group to pull off two of them some 18 years apart, and a band that transcends its era -- the '80s in
Queensrÿche's case -- to be able to present that material as relevant, immediate, and urgent in a new epoch. In
rock, those trends change every year or two. That
Queensrÿche can maintain their identity and remain a vitally important and driven
heavy metal band in the 21st century is accomplishment enough; that they can perform this work so passionately and convincingly, and with such focus -- by making the familiar sound new -- is the mark of legend. This is the way to send the
Operation: Mindcrime epic off into
rock & roll history -- even if nobody quite gets that for another 20 years -- in one's hometown in front of the audience that made you. This is the definitive end to
Mindcrime, and no one would blame
Queensrÿche if they called it a day after this. That said, it seems by the energy and ideas at work in this collective that their resurrection and closing of
Mindcrime may indeed be the beginning of a whole new creative era for them as a band. We can hope.
~Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Average Review:
Number of reviews: 1
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A reviewer
from AnybodyListening.net
A band past its prime
For longtime fans of Queensryche, Mindcrime at the Moore is going to be hard to stomach. The band is clearly past its performance prime, struggling to properly execute Operation: Mindcrime I. Vocalist Geoff Tate, in particular, has a hard time delivering his trademark high wail and powerful vocal resonance.
The Mindcrime II performance is better, but much less challenging than the original. That said, guitarist Mike Stone delivers on this material, much more so than on Mindcrime I, where he is a disappointment in replicating Chris DeGarmo's work.
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